Fix Health Care Policy

Why the DOJ Gave Up Its Delaying Tactics in the Obamacare Litigation

Many predicted the Obama Administration would not stop its delaying tactics in the ObamaCare litigation, which most commentators thought were an attempt to prevent the Supreme Court from deciding the case before the 2012 elections. The Administration received the equivalent of two judicial reprimands in the case brought by 25 states and NFIB that it ultimately lost in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. It was that very case in which the Administration could have tried one more delaying maneuver, by asking the full court (en banc) to rehear the case. Its decision late yesterday not to drag that case out further and allow a clear path to Supreme Court review is worthy of praise, regardless of the reasons.

It’s certainly possible that the Administration really believes its troubling legal theory that Congress can regulate practically anything, as long as some chaos-theory connection can be found between the desired government regulation and something in commerce—which means everything. But there are several other factors that made further government delay untenable:  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: chaos-theory connections, health care lawsuits, Individual Mandate, ObamaCare, Supreme Court

New Study Shows Obamacare’s Impact on Ohio Coverage and Premiums

Americans knew the negative impact Obamacare would have on the nation before the law even passed. Millions of Americans will be added to Medicaid, which already provides low-quality coverage and patchy access to care. The new law will not result in universal coverage, despite its $1 trillion+ price tag. Premiums will go up. And Americans who like their current health plans will not be able to keep them.

Now, states are beginning to better understand the impact of Obamacare. Earlier this month, Gorman Actuarial and Jonathan Gruber reported on Wisconsin residents’ moving out of existing coverage and experiencing premium hikes.

Milliman, an independent consulting firm, recently released its findings on the law’s effects in Ohio.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: low-quality coverage, Medicaid, Milliman, ObamaCare, premiums

The Latest Obamacare Implosion

Inefficient programs that don’t solve problems and are passed against the will of the American people seem to be the Obama Administration’s forte. Now their high-minded aspirations of a health care revolution are quickly unraveling as fatal glitches in Obamacare become apparent.

Next up for implosion? The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, otherwise known as the “CLASS Act,” which creates a government-run long term care insurance program too costly to sustain. At a time when entitlement programs in America have spun out of control, liberal proponents of Obamacare were pushing a new one that had no hope of staying afloat. Now, they are trying hide the fact that they were wrong as another bungling layer of Obamacare is exposed.

From its creation, the CLASS Act was completely unsustainable as written into law. The problem? Due to the effects of adverse selection, the program would charge high premiums that would deter less risky individuals from participating. Indeed, participating in the CLASS program would only appeal to those in poor health expecting to need long-term care in the future, further escalating premiums.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: CLASS Act, government-run long-term care, high premiums, insurance program, ObamaCare

If You Like Your Health Care Plan, Can You Keep It?

At a recent Energy and Commerce hearing, health policy experts testified on the effects Obamacare will have on jobs and employer-sponsored coverage. The title of the hearing said a lot: “Cutting the Red Tape: Saving Jobs from PPACA’s [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] Harmful Regulations.”

Since Obamacare will require employers to spend more money on health care plans for their employees, it’s expected to hinder job creation. To avoid this, a discussion draft under review would prevent the regulations and requirements in the new law from affecting grandfathered health plans. This way people could keep their existing plans, and employers wouldn’t experience the rising costs that will result from Obamacare’s requirements for employer-sponsored coverage.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: employer-sponsored coverage, existing plans, lose coverage, ObamaCare, rising health care costs

Obamacare: Forgotten But Not Gone?

Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is introducing an amendment that would deny money for Obamacare during the upcoming fiscal year.

Has Congress forgotten Obamacare? All the promises to repeal it mostly faded into the background months ago, even as the health law disrupts our economy.

Fortunately, at least one lawmaker is still trying to undo that disruption. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) is forcing the Senate to confront the issue. He’s sponsoring an amendment that would deny money for Obamacare during the upcoming fiscal year (which starts Oct. 1st).

The law was structured to provide $105-billion worth of automatic funding and $1.4-trillion over the next 10 years, so the money gets spent unless Congress blocks it. Stopping the funding is exactly what Sen. Shelby is trying to do.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: Amendment, defund Obamacare, ObamaCare, repeal the law, Sen. Richard Selby

Sorry Dr. Dean, Obamacare Is Not Creating New Jobs

In recent interview, doctor and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean tried to make the case that Obamacare will boost small-business job growth.

“But the fact is [Obamacare] is very good for small business. It’s incredibly good for small business,” said the one-time Democratic presidential candidate.

Incredibly, Dean breaks away from his liberal colleagues and the White House by backing the results from a recent McKinsey & Co. survey. The survey was vilified for reporting that 30 percent of companies said they would drop employee health coverage once the taxpayer-subsidized health insurance exchanges from Obamacare start in 2014.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: employee health coverage, Howard Dean, insurance exchange, McKinsey & Co. survey

Census Numbers: The Trend Toward Government Coverage Continues

In its yearly survey of health insurance coverage, the U.S. Census Bureau published figures that underscore the trend toward greater dependence on government for coverage.

The percentage of Americans on government health programs continues to grow, while employer-based coverage continues to decline. According to the latest Census report, 31 percent of the population received coverage through the government in 2010 compared to 23 percent in 1987. In contrast, 64 percent of the population had private coverage in 2010, compared to 75.5 percent in 1987. Employer-based coverage declined from 62.1 percent in 1987 to 55.3 percent in 2010. (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: Census Bureau, government-run health care, health coverage, ObamaCare, uninsured

Emails Show Liberals Pushed CLASS Act Despite Experts’ Warnings

Liberals in Congress pushed forward with an unsustainable new entitlement program, internal emails show, and dismissed repeated warnings from federal health care experts that it would be an “insurance death spiral,” as one official put it.

The emails, released by congressional investigators, reveal that proponents of the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) program pushed to include it in the president’s health care bill despite warnings that it would require either a sizable federal bailout, or another insurance mandate. The program’s advocates publicly insisted, meanwhile, that it would be self-sustaining and completely voluntary.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: CLASS Act, e-mails, ObamaCare, repeal the law, unsustainable program

Fourth Circuit Rules, but Challenge to Obamacare Still Stands

Today the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected two challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)—better known as ObamaCare—on procedural grounds. Because the court found procedural problems in both cases, it did not reach the constitutional question of whether the individual mandate is constitutional. Importantly, the procedural problems identified in these cases either don’t exist, or will be unpersuasive to the Supreme Court, which already has a petition before it to hear another challenge to ObamaCare. Accordingly, today’s decisions add nothing to the discussion over the constitutionality of ObamaCare, and add almost nothing to the speculation about how the Supreme Court will ultimately rule.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: constitutional, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, lawsuit, ObamaCare, procedural grounds

Want to Help Job Creation? Don’t Forget to Repeal Obamacare

There is an obvious omission from all the previews of the President’s upcoming speech on jobs: Obamacare.

Obamacare is perhaps the most damaging of the Administration’s policies that are impeding the country’s recovery. At a time when there should be a focus on cutting spending, reducing regulation, and lowering taxes, Obamacare does the complete opposite. It spends more, imposes costly new mandates and regulations, and raises taxes on individuals and businesses. This is no way to get the economy up and running again.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: Administration, job creation, mandates, ObamaCare, raises taxes, regulations, speech